The Spirit of the Lord

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because be hath anointed

me to preach the gospel to the poor; he bath sent me to

heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,

and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty

them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

LUKE 4:18-19

 

This is the message Jesus declared all during His earthly

ministry. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath

anointed me to preach the gospel…, and the Gospel is Good

News! There are too many bad news preachers in the earth today.

 

All they want to do is bring doom and gloom. Some people seem

to think they’re Old Testament prophets, called to rail out against

sin. But thank God we’re under a new covenant. The message of

this new covenant is the same message that Jesus proclaimed: the

Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and He has anointed me to preach

the Gospel, the Good News.

 

The Gospel is Good News, my dear friend. Good News! I

bring you Good News! I bring you glad tidings. I bring you Good

News! Hallelujah! I get happy just thinking about the Good

News!

 

We all know the world is full of bad news. You can turn on

television news and all you hear is bad news. The last thing you

need is a preacher bringing you more bad news. We need to hear

the Good News of the Gospel: that Jesus still saves, Jesus still

heals, Jesus still sets free, and that Jesus is coming again. That’s

the Gospel!

 

The problem is that many Christians are confused. They

have a little bit of the old covenant, a little bit of the new

covenant, and they’ve made up their own covenant. Their own

covenant brings them under condemnation and bondage one

minute, and it sets them free the next.

 

In their confusion, they think God is blessing them one moment and the next moment He is saying, “I’m going to kill you.” They walk around waiting for God to beat them and hurt them for reasons known only to Him.

 

That’s not the Good News! The Good News is the same as it was when

Jesus walked the earth. Do you know why it’s still the same? Because

Jesus is still the same. Jesus has not changed!

 

The question I pose to you is, “What happens when Jesus shows up?” What happens when Jesus walks in the door? I want you to know that when Jesus walks in the door, the very atmosphere of the room changes. When Jesus walks in the door, sickness and death and poverty and the curse of hell go out the back door, saying, “It’s time for us to the leave.”

 

When Jesus walks in the door, you will know that He is there. You can see His nature and His character in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. What happens when He shows up? Jesus answered that Himself.

 

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it

more abundantly.

JOHN 10:10

 

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from

the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested,

that he might destroy the works of the devil.

1 JOHN 3:8